Mr. Sarwan Singh
Joe Frazier was Muhammad Ali’s joint boxer. Ali became Olympic champion in 1960 and Joe in 1964 Olympic Games. From 1965 Joe became a professional boxer like Ali and in 1970 became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He was 2 years younger than Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali, but died 5 years before him. His left-handed ‘hook’ jab was dangerous and outstripped the so-called boxers. He could live only 67 years from 12 January 1944 to 7 November 2011.
After becoming the Olympic champion in Rome, Cassius Clay changed his religion and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, but Joe Frazier always called him Cassius. They remained friends and ate with each other. Their relationship was that of partners. Even immaturity should be shown and jealousy should be nurtured. Lifting up and throwing down. There were three major fights between them to win the Heavyweight World Champion title. The first ram was won by Joe Frazier while the second and third rams were won by Muhammad Ali.
Both became professional heavyweight world champions after becoming amateur Olympic champions. Both were of dark race. The childhood of both of them was spent in hardship, but they achieved great things with their determination. Their names were inscribed in boxing’s ‘Halls of Honours’. Frazier’s full name was Joseph William Frazier, but his nickname was ‘Smokin’ Joe’. He colored boxing rings from 1964 to 1981. His left hand ‘hook’ was his strongest asset.
Joe Frazier was born on January 12, 1944 to mother Dolly and father Rubin Frazier in Beaufort, South Carolina, USA. He was the twelfth child of his parents. The father bought ten acres of land in the Laurel belt of South Carolina to support the family. It was a purely rural area. On the day Joe was born, his father had an accident. His left hand was badly crushed along with other injuries. When shown to the doctor, he recommended to amputate the arm from the wrist. The joy of the son’s birth turned into the grief of the father.
Rizq was also injured with the physical injury of the farm worker’s arm being amputated. Frazier and Dolly tied the knot and worked in the fields. The land was poor and there was no adequate yield. Frazier was just starting to grow when his father took him around the farm. There they reared animals, grew crops and extracted corn liquor and sold it in the nearby town. The family was large and its livelihood was supported by the poor yield of the farm and the sale of local liquor. Joe Frazier was affectionately known as ‘Billy Boy’ there.
Despite his amputation, Rubin continued to take an interest in boxing. He wanted to make Joe Frazier a boxer. In the early 1950s, he bought a black and white TV so that his family and neighbors could watch boxing matches. One night, Joe’s uncle, Israel, checked his temper and said that Chobar could become a boxer like the boxers fighting on TV. This could also be the second Joe Louis. With his uncle’s encouragement, Joe Frazier filled an old sack with soil and tied the sack to a tree trunk in the backyard. Then he would not see the dawn nor the dawn, he would tear the sack with his vicious punches. As he used to watch famous boxers throwing punches on the TV screen, he used to imitate them. For six-seven years, he practiced for an hour every day. He used to wear old socks on his hands and tied them with old ties.
Just as Joe’s father was crippled, Joe also survived one day. He was riding a fat ram. A one-and-a-half quintal ram was hit with a stick, then it jumped towards the yard. Joe became difficult to cope with. He fell on concrete blocks breaking his left arm. The family did not have money to get treatment from a good doctor. He had to tie his arm from the native sage, but that arm was very useful for sticking a ‘left hook’ instead of being a hindrance in boxing.
As long as Joe lived on the Beaufort farm, he lived in poverty. When he was fifteen years old, he started working on a white farm owned by two brothers, Mack and Jim. Mac was gentle, but Jim was very stubborn. One day, a twelve-year-old black laborer lost some damage to his tractor in an accident. Jim took off his belt and kicked the twelve-year-old child laborer. Joe told the nearby workers what he saw. When Jim found out, he glared at Joe Frazier, asking why did you tell the others?
Things escalated to the point where Joe decided to leave Beaufort, but there was no town close enough to find work elsewhere. He didn’t even have the bus fare. The nearest bus station was Charleston, 75 miles away. One of his brothers, Tommy, worked in New York. Joe added some money by doing other jobs and in 1958 he boarded the Greyhound bus and went to New York. There he worked in the Coca Cola plant. The truck driver was white and Joe was the one doing the loading and unloading of crates. After working there for a while, he moved to Philadelphia in 1959 where he met boxing coach Durham, which began his boxing career.
During 1962-64 he won three consecutive Golden Gloves in amateur boxing. For the 1964 Olympics, he was taken with the team as a spare boxer to replace unfit boxers on the spot. The same thing happened. His weight boxer Buster Mathis was injured and Joe was replaced. In the semi-final bout, he faced an experienced boxer from Soviet Russia. Joe’s thumb was badly injured by a ‘left hook’, but he won the fight with a head and advanced to the finals. Joe suffered many injuries in his childhood and early adulthood. He did not let anyone know about the broken thumb. Before the finals, he dipped his thumb in hot salt water to remove the pain and fought the race with courage. At last the victory was his head.
In 1965 he became a professional boxer. He defeated Woody Goss and three other strong boxers and gave the so-called boxers sleepless nights. In 1966, he became the protégé of Los Angeles trainer Eddy Futch and started winning big. By February 1967, he had won 14 major tournaments. ‘Ring Magazine’ declared him the boxer to rival Muhammad Ali. On the other hand, Muhammad Ali, who was in full swing, was sentenced to three years in prison for not joining the American army against Vietnam. His title of world champion was withdrawn by the World Boxing Federation. Due to Muhammad Ali’s ban, Joe faced Buster Mathis, which Frazier won by knockout.
In 1969, he fought 30 professional bouts out of which he won 29. His winning streak continued in 1970 as well. Even defeated heavyweight champion Bob Foster. By then, Muhammad Ali had also come out after serving a three-year sentence and was allowed to fight for the world champion title. The match was now between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which was declared the ‘Fight of the Century’. Millions of dollars were spent on winning or losing this competition. His preaching also took place on a very large scale.
On March 8, 1971, Ali and Joe clashed in New York’s Madison Square Garden. The eyes of millions of people of the world were on the TV screens. Ali was then 29 years old and Joe was 27 years old. Ali had a big name, but he came out after serving three years in prison and stayed away from active boxing matches. It was a very tight fight till the 15th round. Finally, Frazier broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw by hitting his dangerous weapon ‘Left Hook’, which caused darkness before Ali’s eyes. ‘Fight of the Century’ Joe Frazier won.
Muhammad Ali was taken to the hospital. Some time Joe Frazier also had to stay in the hospital. In 1972, Joe won the World Boxing Champion title again. In 1973, he lost the world champion title to the famous boxer George Foreman. In 1974 Ali and Joe again faced off for the heavyweight world title, which Muhammad Ali won. The third clash between the two world champions took place in Manila in 1975, dubbed the ‘Thrilla in Manila’. Muhammad Ali then defeated Joe Frazier by winning that match.
Losing again to George Foreman in 1976 put Joe out of contention for the world title, but Muhammad Ali continued to fight. Joe had 32 major wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. In 1981, Joe stepped into the ring again, but the first thing did not happen. Instead of boxing himself, he started coaching boxing. ‘The Ring’ magazine named Frazier its Fighter of the Year in 1967, 70 and 71. His name was inducted into the International Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Joe Frazier’s legacy was not limited to boxing alone, he was a courageous athlete who ruled the boxing ring and the hearts of the people for a long time. His fellow players and spectators continue to look up to him as a role model, which is why his legacy lives on even after his passing.
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